Author: Madatian Greg

CHILDREN OF THE GENOCIDE
by Jean Ipdjian

Gibrahayer
November 18, 2009
London

" The Genocide is not buried in the past, because we are what we
are…we are the Armenian Diaspora"

The recently signed Protocols and the furore generated by them
have brought into the fore the issue of identity and the means of
identifying one’s self in society as an individual and as a group.

It has always been hard for Armenians in the Diaspora to keep their
national identity while at the same time being able to identify
themselves as citizens and as part of the countries, they happen to
live in.

It has always been the endeavour of Armenian individuals and
Organizations to create such conditions that will help keep their
"Armenianism". The object of not being swept by the currents of
assimilation which are so strong specially in friendlier societies,
where the physical threats to their wellbeing is less and where there
are no easily definable social and religious boundaries between them
and the local population.

The Diaspora, which is mostly a direct result of the persecutions of
Armenians in the late 19th century Ottoman Empire and more so of the
Genocide of more than a million Armenians living in their homeland
in Ancient Armenia, present day Eastern Turkey and also Istanbul and
other cities, has used this fact as a means of identification. We
are children of the Genocide and it is practically impossible to find
a family or individual whose ancestors have not been victims of the
Genocide in one way or the other.

Therefore, it is inconceivable for us, the children of the Genocide
to accept any form of denial or questioning of the existence of the
Genocide, because in that way we will be actually denying ourselves and
robbing ourselves from our own identity. This mean of identification
is so strong that it was only recently that compatriotic organisations
were dissolved in our communities. And this fact is one of the core
problems that the Protocols have created.

It is a fact that one should not be stuck in the past. This is
a popular no tion put forward by the proponents of the Protocols
and rapprochement with Turkey. There is no denial that, because
we are geographically and historically destined to have Turkey
as our neighbours, we have to establish some kind of relationship
with them and find a way of coexisting next to them. But, in our
"forward looking" and in our desire that we should not be "stuck in
the past" we cannot forget the Genocide, we cannot pretend that it
has no bearing on us today. We cannot do so, because we live today
and have lived for decades outside our ancestral lands, because we
have been denied our right to live and prosper on our ancestral lands.

It is, to say the least, extreme naivety to believe that this wound in
our history can heal with unilateral acts of forgiveness and "forward
looking" on our part. The key, which will untangle this quagmire of
existence, which is the Diaspora, is firmly in Turkey’s hands. We
can live with the consequences of the Genocide and the heirs of the
organisers and executers of the Genocide, provided that they stop
their denial, provided that they accept it. Only then can the real
healing process start.

That is why the Protocols as they stand, and all such ill conceived
measures such as the now defunct Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation
Committee, are destined to smash into and be shattered on the wall
of the resolve of the majority of Armenians of the Diaspora and the
more nationalistic elements in Armenia proper.

And if we look at the chain of events, we will see that unless
our resolve in standing up for and defending our National issues
is unwavering and steadfast, their will continuously be attempts
at nibbling on our resolve and eventually defeating it. Because we
are dealing with a nation which has had no qualms in the killing of
its citizens in the past or present, we are dealing with a nation
whose arrogance has allowed it to have laws which make it illegal
to question the Turkishness of its histo ry, and who has complete
and utter disregard for public opinion, and for whom human rights is
something alien.

Therefore, we, as children of the Genocide should stand firm in our
resolve, we, as children of the victims of that Genocide should not
allow for petty economic considerations our rights to be swept aside,
we, as children of the Genocide be misguided by well-wishing and noble
ideas of understanding and unilateral attempts of reconciliation. The
Genocide is not buried in the past, because we are what we are,
we are the Armenian Diaspora.

ARMENIA’S STAND ON OSCE MG RATHER VAGUE

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.11.2009 17:04 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia’s stand on OSCE MG activities is rather
vague, according to Heritage parliamentary group Larisa Alaverdyan.

I expect Armenia to retreat slightly from its principles in Karabakh
issue. The republic is in a trap," she told reporters on Tuesday.

"However, the conflict will not be resolved soon."

SURB ASTVATSATSIN CHURCH OF SHOSHKAVANK CONSECRATED

Noyan Tapan
Nov 16, 2009

STEPANAKERT, NOVEMBER 16, NOYAN TAPAN. The Surb Astvatsatsin Church of
Shoshkavank was consecrated by the head of the Artsakh diocese of the
Armenian Apostolic Church Archishop Pergev Martirosian on November 12.

Shoshkavank as a sacred place dates back to the 13th century. The
church was thoroughly repaired with the donations of former Minister
of Defence of the NKR Samvel Babayan and his brother Karo Babayan,
while the expenses on equipping the area with modern amenities and
constructing the adjacent structures were covered by businessman
Tigran Khachatrian from Artsakh.

The Archbishop Pergev Martirosian together with clergymen of the
Artsakh diocese started the consecration ceremony early in the
morning. They consecrated the Holy Altar, the icon of the Mother
of God, the four pillars of the Altar with the names of the four
Evangelists written on them, the font, and the other pillars of
the church.

Following the consecration ceremony, a Holy Liturgy was celebrated in
Shoshkavank (after a long period of interruption) by the Archbishop
Pargev Martirosian. In his sermon, the head of the Artsakh diocese
stated that prayers in this church were interrupted because during the
years of godlessness the church underwent the same ordeal as the whole
people, sharing their fate. "The yoke of godlessness was also thrown
off by the Artsakh liberation struggle, and God granted a victory to
us and blessed us to restore our sacred places," the Archbishop said.

According to the information system of the Artsakh diocese of the
Armenian Apostolic Chuech, the ceremony was attended by Speaker of the
NKR National Assembly Ashot Ghulian, Chairman of the Supreme Court
of the NKR Ararat Danielian, NA deputies, high-ranking officials,
and the faithful.

KARLSSON IS FLYING TO YEREVAN

ArmInfo
2009-11-16 16:14:00

ArmInfo. "Karlsson on the Roof is Flying Again" , the first exhibition
devoted exclusively to the drawings of Ilon Wikland, will be on view
at the Children’s Art Gallery of Armenia from November 19 through
December 3, 2010.

The Swedish EU Presidency and Junior Achievement of Armenia told
ArmInfo that the Exhibition is organized by the Swedish EU Presidency
in cooperation with the Consulate of Estonia, Junior Achievement of
Armenia and Oriflame of Armenia.

Karlsson on the Roof, a story written by Swedish author Asrtid
Lindgren, was turned into a famous cartoon. The cartoon which aired
for many years from Soviet Armenia to independent Armenia has been a
favorite for generations. The illustrator of the book, Ilon Wikland
was born in Estonia and left with her grandmother to Sweden at the
age of 14. She is in Armenia for the opening of the exhibition.

The exhibition is part of the celebrations marking the adoption of
the International Convention on Children Rights. "I am pleased that
we can offer the opportunity for Armenians to come and enjoy one of
their favorite cartoon characters come to life through the work of
Ilon Wikland. At the same time, the event gives us the occasion to once
again emphasize the importance of bringing into public’s attention the
fundamental rights of children." stated Hans Gunnar Aden, Ambassador
of Sweden.

At the opening of the exhibition on November 19, skits on children’s
rights performed by school children will be presented. Four hundred
students from 20 schools of all regions of Armenia took part in a
competition organized by Junior Achievement of Armenia. The teams
studied the rights of children, discussed, wrote and presented a
script on one or more rights. The wining 3 teams: school 149 of
Yerevan School, school number 5 of Etchmiatzin city and Nersesian
College of Etchmiatzin will be joined by the Children of Orran, a
center for needy and vagrant children and the students of the comedy
school of Ashod Ghazaryan in presenting the winning acts. Famous star
comedians Hrant Tokhatyan, Ashod Ghazaryan and Zara Aramyan will add
a twinkle to the show by making guest appearance.

The speakers at the event will include Laylee Moshiri, Representative
of UNICEF and a representatie of the Ombudsman of Armenia.

World Markets Research Center
Global Insight
Nov 12 2009

Pipeline Explosion Disrupts Armenian Gas Supplies, Raises Rationing Concerns

BYLINE: Lilit Gevorgyan

Yesterday, representatives of Armenian gas company Armrusgasard
announced that an explosion has damaged a segment of the Iran-Armenia
gas pipeline that provides Armenia with Iranian gas. This has led to
Iran suspending gas supplies to Armenia. Iran promised to resume the
gas supply once the damage, in the Armenian section of the pipeline,
was repaired. The pipeline was only built recently, following a 2004
agreement between the two countries, and Armenia received the first
supply of gas in May this year. In exchange for the gas Iran receives
electricity generated by Armenia’s Metsamor Soviet-era nuclear power
station. Neither Armenia nor Iran have commented on the causes of the
explosion.

Significance:The Armenia-Iran gas pipeline provides an energy lifeline
for the small, landlocked and resource-poor Armenia. Armenia has long
suffered from inconsistent supplies of gas from Russia via Georgia,
prompting it to seek more stable supply resources through the
construction of the pipeline with Iran. The country’s businesses and
population are heavily dependent on gas rather than electricity as it
is cheaper. Therefore, they are bound to be affected by yesterday’s
pipeline explosion. This has led to fears that rationing could be
introduced in order to deal with a possible shortage causing
significant disruption to businesses already struggling to deal with
the global economic slowdown which has caused a double-digit
contraction of Armenia’s GDP.

Interfax, Russia
Nov 13 2009

Aliyev vows to defend Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity

MINSK Nov 13

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev has pledged to continue taking measures
to re-establish justice and to defend his country’s territorial
integrity.

"The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was imposed on us before the collapse
of the Soviet Union. A war was unleashed against Azerbaijan, ethnic
cleansing was launched, more than one million of our citizens became
refugees, and nearly 20% of our territory is currently under
occupation," Aliyev said in Minsk on Thursday, addressing students of
the Belarus State University.

"Azerbaijan’s culture monuments, our cemeteries and other sites have
been either destroyed or looted," the Azeri president said.

Armenia has failed to fulfill UN resolutions that call on it to
withdraw troops from the territory of Azerbaijan, Aliyev said.

"All attempts to solve this issue peacefully have proved to be
fruitless," he added.

OIC BELIEVES NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT WILL BE RESOLVED PEACEFULLY: SECRETARY GENERAL

Trend
Nov 12 2009
Azerbaijan

The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) believes the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be resolved peacefully, OIC Secretary
General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told Trend News.

"We believe eventually this problem will be resolved peacefully,
because it is the right of the Azerbaijani people," said Ihsanoglu,
who is attending the Baku conference on dialogue among civilizations.

"All the OIC’s resolutions were adopted in this direction."

Resolutions on the Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan were adopted
at the 36th meeting of foreign ministers of the OIC member states in
Damascus. The resolutions envisage providing economic assistance to
Azerbaijan in connection with the Armenian aggression. The resolutions
have condemned the destruction of Islamic cultural and historical
monuments in the occupied Azerbaijani territory by Armenians.

Ihsanoglu named the destruction of mosques and the burning of forests
by the Armenians in the occupied Azerbaijani territories as great
mistake.

"We do not support these actions and do not believe that we should
answer by the same methods [the actions of Armenia], because our
faith forbids us to it," he added.

The Islamic community – Ummah, according to him, "throughout history,
opened the doors to all religions, but unfortunately Armenians have
destroyed mosques and historical monuments and even resorted to
burning of forests during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict."

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.

"As its firm and principled position, the OIC has condemned the
Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan and would continue its
solidarity with Azerbaijan on the conflict with Armenia over the
Nagorno-Karabakh." Ihsanoglu said in an exclusive interview with
Trend News earlier.

The OIC has also supported all efforts of Azerbaijan for a just and
negotiated peaceful settlement of the conflict and rejected Armenian
activities in the occupied territories, he added.

The OIC, which is the second largest organization in the world after
the U.N, said "now, for a peaceful settlement of this dispute, we
should stick to the international law and regulations. International
laws as well as those resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council on
this conflict have clearly reaffirmed the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan and also the inviolability of international
borders and the inadmissibility of the use of force for the acquisition
of territory."

ANOTHER TWO SWINE FLU CASES REGISTERED IN ARMENIA

armradio.am
11.11.2009 18:09

Two new swine flu cases have been registered in Armenia, Liana
Torosyan, Chief Expert of Sanitary and Epidemiologic Inspectorate
Liana Torosyan at the Armenian Ministry of Healthcare told "Radiolur."

The two infected patients are no in Infection Clinic of Nork. Both
are getting adequate treatment.

The two citizens infected by H1N1 virus have been detected at the
Zvartnots Airport

Liana Torosyan said their condition is now satisfactory.

WHOM CONFLICTING STATEMENTS ARE MADE FOR AND WHY?

Aysor
Nov 11 2009
Armenia

"EU, OSCE Minsk Group, and Turkey’s officials make conflicting
statements," said at today’s press conference Director of Caucasus
Media Institute, Alexander Iskandaryan, when asked by correspondent
of Aysor on-line paper to comment last developing and statements made
on issue of settlement of Karabakh problem

In particularly, the correspondent asked about two statements: of one
made by Turkish representative in OSCE that Turkey must become co-chair
of OSCE Minsk Group, and another made by EU Special Representative
for South Caucasus, Peter Semneby, on ‘current status quo in the
Karabakh conflict is not beneficial for Armenia’.

Alexander Iskandaryan said these statements cannot be viewed in the
context of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations despite the
undirected link between closed by Turkey border and Karabakh conflict.

It is necessary to understand who these statements are made for
and why, the analyst says pointing that Turkey’s government is in a
very difficult situation because of protests against normalization
relations with Armenia and, in this connection, tensions between
Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Referring to the statements on links between Armenian-Turkish relations
and issue of Karabakh, Alexander Iskandaryan mentioned two signed
protocols with clear states: these two issues have no links.

"The protocols have not a single word about Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
and Azerbaijan," stressed the analyst adding that one shouldn’t
predict what might happen in the settlement of the Karabakh problem
before ratification in Turkey’s Parliament.

AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN PRESIDENTS TO MEET IN EUROPE: AZERBAIJANI FM

Trend
Nov 11 2009
Azerbaijan

The Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents will meet in Europe by late
November, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told media
today.

"According to my information, the presidents will meet in a
European city. Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan have agreed to meet,"
Mammadyarov said.

Afterward, OSCE foreign ministers will meet in Athens Dec. 1-2 to
discuss the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

He added that the sides have failed to achieve new proposals to solve
the conflict.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan
lost all of Nagorno-Karabakh except for Shusha and Khojali in
December 1991. In 1992-93, Armenian armed forces occupied Shusha,
Khojali and seven districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan
and Armenia signed a ceasefire in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE
Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. — are currently holding
peace negotiations.

"We continue discussing principles that have been considered at the
talks for the last five years," Mammadyarov said.

He noted that the talks on Nagorno-Karabakh are a step-by-step process
envisaging first the withdrawal of Armenian troops from Azerbaijani
occupied territories and the further restoration of communications
in the region.

"Then, the IDPs must return to these territories," Mammadyarov said.

"Peace and stability must be created. The economic situation must
improve. Afterward, it will be possible to determine Nagorno-Karabakh’s
status."

The Azerbaijani side repeatedly stated that Armenians and Azerbaijanis
living together will be able to determine Nagorno-Karabakh’s status
in the future. But this status can be determined only by honoring
the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, the minister said.

Mammadyarov said there are many such examples. The Tatars and Bashkirs
determined their status within the territorial integrity of Russia
and the Hungarians in Slovakia, the minister said.

"I do not believe that we can reach any final decision now. We cannot
speak about any other issues before implementing the first stage, which
includes withdrawing Armenian troops from the occupied territories,"
Mammadyarov said.

He said the Armenians want to discuss myriad issues before the
withdrawal of their troops.